A Colorado athlete with Olympic aspirations is facing serious charges after allegedly stabbing an Uber driver to death and abandoning his body in a field. According to police, the suspect later claimed the act was in self-defense against an attempted assault.

Khayla Dawson, 27, from Colorado Springs, reportedly sought a late-night “joy ride” on Sunday night when she booked an Uber ride with 38-year-old Jeremy Campbell. This information is detailed in an arrest affidavit provided by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, which was accessed by Law&Crime.

Dawson, who participated in the 2024 USA Olympic Trials in Oregon for shot put, as reported by local ABC affiliate KRDO, claims she fell asleep during the ride in Campbell’s 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe. She alleges she awoke to find him attempting to “sexually assault her,” prompting her to defend herself with a knife, as stated in the affidavit.

The affidavit reveals Dawson’s account to the police, explaining she had ordered the Uber due to not owning a car and feeling “cooped up.” She initially told officers she was visiting a friend but later said she “just wanted to get some air.”

According to the affidavit, Dawson recounted to officers that she was asleep in the back seat when she felt the driver reach back towards her. In response, she claimed to have used a knife for self-defense, stating that Campbell also had a knife. The struggle reportedly resulted in the car crashing through a barbed wire fence and coming to rest in a field filled with horses.

Cops say after the car came to a stop, Dawson allegedly got out and went around to pull Campbell out of the Hyundai. She then got in the driver’s seat and drove his car back to her apartment, according to police.

Authorities were able to track down Campbell’s vehicle after his father reported him missing; his out-of-state girlfriend provided the location of where his phone was last seen on Snapchat maps at an apartment complex where Dawson lives, according to the affidavit. The Hyundai was found in the parking lot.

“[Deputies] advised there was blood spatter on the front passenger window, on the front passenger seat, on the dashboard, the center console, the driver’s seat, and steering wheel,” the affidavit says. “There was also a large puddle of blood on the floor directly behind the driver’s seat. Outside the driver door was a small puddle of blood possibly mixed with saliva.”

Authorities found Campbell’s phone at the bottom of a stairwell and were able to see who his riders were on Sunday night. Dawson allegedly showed up as his last pickup and was found to be living at the apartment complex where Campbell’s car was found in Colorado Springs.

Deputies went to Dawson’s apartment and questioned her about what happened, with the Olympic hopeful providing her account of the “attempted sexual assault,” the affidavit says. A search warrant was executed for Dawson’s residence and Campbell’s key fob to his Hyundai was found inside a box of dryer sheets, along with his wallet and Colorado driver’s license.

“There was a butcher block of knives on the kitchen counter with all but one of the knives accounted for,” the affidavit alleges. “The largest butcher knife in the set of chrome-handled knives was missing from the block and was not located inside the apartment. In the living room was an approximate 18″ blade machete-type knife, hidden behind a cabinet.”

Dawson told police where the stabbing unfolded and Campbell’s body was found Monday around 11:30 a.m., according to the affidavit. “A bloody butcher knife with a chrome handle, matching the knives from Khayla’s kitchen butcher block, and a folding knife were located in the field near the body as well as the other black Nike tennis shoe and two of Khayla’s credit cards and a sock,” the affidavit says.

Campbell was allegedly stabbed in the back of the head, the back of the right shoulder, the right side of his face, the “underside” of his chin, in his neck, and his hands. Dawson did not have any puncture wounds, but was treated for a “broken knee bone,” according to police.

The Colorado Springs shot putter was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and motor vehicle theft. KRDO reports that she is a former athlete with the Colorado Chapter of the USA Track & Field team, with online records showing that she placed 22nd overall at the 2024 Olympic trials with a distance of 16.86m.

Dawson was being held this week without bond at the El Paso County Jail and is due to make her first court appearance on Nov. 6.